Between The Lines
by Black-Asp
Summary: First Fanfic: The trio has been reduced to a duo. The world has been opened up to all of them. Now in their first mission together as Aurors Ron and Hermione will have to confront serious issues and face old enemies with new tricks up their sleeves.
1. Passing In Crashing Out

**BETWEEN THE LINES**

_"Did you guys really ever think that the wall we put between ourselves and muggles, as you call them would last forever?"_

_CHAPTER 1 PASSING IN, CRASHING OUT_

It was a nice looking house. A large detached house with four bedrooms and a nice sitting room but from the outside it looked somewhat non-descript Hermione thought. _However, inside it's nice to be back here after that final training stint_. Another thought countered that as she walked up to the red door of the house, the physical and mental fatigue starting to hit her. She had a lot of that. It had been an intense final few weeks before passing out as An Auror or rather Rank Magus. She grinned to herself and with distinction too. Not bad for a _good academic turned fighter_ she thought. Although most muggles wouldn't notice, No they may notice a 19 year old pretty good looking who carried herself pretty well with bushy hair flowing down to a neck length and who carried an official government pass along with a HM forces card to match. On the other hand, most wizards would notice Hermione Granger. Former Gryffindor Head Girl at Hogwarts, One of the friends that had helped Harry Potter "The Boy who Lived" to fulfil the prophecy and had defeated Lord Voldemort. A person who had been considered to do a ministerial or research job at the ministry or even become a professor at Hogwarts or one of the other wizarding schools around like Beauxbatons. However, the fighting spirit and adrenalin, the desire to feel the ecstasy of winning had in her blood somehow through the seven years she had been in Hogwarts and just would not leave her system after Voldemort's death. After a long period of thought and research, she had decided to become an Auror just like eight others of that year including Harry and Ron. Besides it could further her political ambitions in the future with a strong background…

When they had had come to Talon Barracks eighteen months ago the senior instructor had said the words "You three have all faced challenges some of you have yet to face your biggest challenges. The training itself could mean absolutely nothing but it could mean everything to you. However, to get there you've got to go through me and you've got to go through yourselves for maybe one of you that last time. Maybe for some of you that last push will be the best one you have made. " The Instructors words had proved prophetic. By the end of the first year of training out of the eight who had come four people had distinguished themselves in training by going into their second and third year in half the time both getting permission to use Time Turners for academic subjects. These meant they all had received ribbons with two horizontal flames on a black background recognising their achievement on their robes and dress uniform.

However when it came down to the final examinations the real scores were set by two people both almost matching each other in scores with virtually nothing to distinguish themselves. One of those two was Hermione the other one was none other then freakily faced head boy Ronald J Weasley determined to set a mark like no other and make some friends too. He had done both earning new respect from both instructors and students alike as someone who knew when to play by the book but was also unorthodox in his style. Ron and Hermione had both gone for the Special Investigation Branch and were both placed on the European section together as a partnership under the leadership of Kingsley Shacklebolt. They'd had both become closer over the two years now but were still just really good friends although… it was coming nearer and they were both moving in together although they wouldn't be alone Harry and Ginny would be joining them.

However Harry was, absent from the trio. He had also passed as an Auror on the "Double Ended Candle" and like the six that had survived had a choice in assignments. But Unlike Ron and Hermione who'd opted for front line investigative duties Harry had gone in for ministerial protection duties something that was considered a relatively backwater assignment that was behind the front line. Everyone had noted that although he was an above average recruit and was doing his best he seemed almost tired of being the one person in the front line. Ron and Hermione had noticed it way before that. After Voldemort's downfall in a final, vicious, deadly confrontation with a group of death eaters amongst them Lucius Malfoy, which Hermione and Ron both had still had, scars from, there seemed to be a sense of relief around him, that his fight was over and he could finally relax and almost start afresh. His attitude mirrored the Wizarding Community at large.

However, there was still a degree of vigilance especially as some of Voldemort's key supporters had disappeared from sight. Although they had no real figurehead there were some prominent key Death Eaters at large making no apologies and no return to the light. Added to those were a number of prominent dark Slytherins had also gone to ground such as Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle. Those in the other three houses and most members in Voldemort's outer circle were easily caught. However, the core element remained even after his death and while it had disappeared, it remained a threat lurking in the background making its presence felt but never really rearing up.

Other issues were now in the centre stage as the Wizarding World got a cold and nasty wake up call to issues of intolerance. This wake up call had huge ramifications for the Ministry as a significant number of people were forced to resign amongst them Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge

The fatigue was really starting to hit her now. _Just goes to show what fifteen months learning and practising almost non-stop can do to you she thought tiredly,_ As she unlocked the door and stepped in to the entrance. At first glances everything looked the same when she last left it, the coat hooks were there in their usual position. The walls were coloured a nice shade of light blue similar to the colour her mother's private practice had been painted in. She had come to Britain hoping for a more respectable pay then what they earned in the French medical although she lamented the quality of British resources. Her Dad had stayed in the National Health Service and worked as a respected orthodontist, As usual they were both out _what a surprise_ Hermione thought to herself resignedly.

When she came back over the Christmas or Easter holidays only one of them was around and normally one had taken her home and then gone straight back to work. Now she could not really care as she went up the staircase carrying her trunk and walked up the stairs to her room. Opening the door and switching on the light she found it was as she had left it: Neatly organised tidy and airy she thought as she unpacked. There was a medium sized bed on the left hand side of the room a Desk in front of the window and two stacks of shelves to the right. The top shelf had her biting book on it, which was interred in a semi transparent air holed compartment, as well as her other old Hogwarts textbooks that she had kept. She loved reading through them at times to revise what she had learnt although she knew the textbooks off by heart and probably a bit more. One shelf below that were the books that were _now _of practical use to her and would be of use to her in the future:

**The Aurors Handbook by Warlock General Ardumis Excellus **

**Advanced Broomstick and Carpet Air Combat Manoeuvring by Thomas Kazanski**

**Specialist Poisons and Antidotes by Dai Cyane **

** A Revised Approach to Equality and Diplomacy with all major non wizard species by Mme Liberagalite with foreword and sections by Hermione Granger**

**Navigating through the Muggle World- By Nigel Malvern **

The final textbook on that shelf wasn't one that she'd really needed to look at but was something that Ron had needed due to an unexpected and almost shocking announcement made by the new undersecretary in the sixth year. Any student who was applying to join the ministry, Aurors or Department of Magical Law Enforcement who had not had a high degree of practical experience in the non-magical world (living in it) would be required to either study muggle studies up to OWL or NEWT level or take an Advanced degree. That was another 50-50 split in the class with Harry, Hermione judged to have had a high degree of experience but Ron and Neville being under the bar. As a result, both of them had to go through An Advanced Wizarding course with a theory and practical Test to make up the ground. Ron and Neville had got through with O's thanks to an enormous amount of help from Hermione and Harry together going out on outings together. Not always strictly educational especially when Ron and she were out together though which had led to the personal question what was the state of her and Ron's relationship. A matter of the heart which she wasn't in the mood to think about: not at the moment, as she went for the shelf below that which had both of her favourite muggle and magical books she liked to read especially _Hogwarts: A History_, which now had a new section covering the "turbulent time of the school from 1999-2006". The years Trio had spent together in Hogwarts. She grinned she had written that section while she was training and had an owl from a certain person asking, "What was it like to be a part of living history?" She had replied, "I'm still part of it." In addition, she was even now.

A loud "**miaow**" came from the trunk reminding Hermione to unlock the cage containing Crookshanks who sprang out and padded down stairs looking for food. Then a white owl flapped in through the open window carrying a letter. Hermione's exhaustion subsided long enough to pay the owl with a few Galleons and read the letter.

_Dear Hermione_

_I am coming to England in a week's time as I have am selected for the Bulgarian National Team for the seven Nations Tournament_ (A league made up of England, Scotland, France, Romania, Ireland and Bulgaria). _I have talked with the coach Langiskevitch and he is prepared to send me with half of the squad about five days ahead on a muggle aeroplane. The flight is BAL 95 which goes from Sofia at 11.00 our time and arrives at 12.20 your time. Please could you come and meet at the airport as I have something important I need to discuss with you?_

_Love from Vicki_

Hermione could have almost hit the bed immediately in exhaustion. Her personal life was taking a toll on her. Krum was a good friend and had been a great confidant but was he more then that, No they'd both hadn't ever really had allowed that and it was too late to start now….Besides there was one certain red haired azure eyed boy turned man that her heart longed for and now she was working with him full-time. But did he feel the same way about her and would he when he found that there was another side to her with some people especially one important person that he and Harry had yet to meet who was as kind of equally important to her as well as her parents?

The days passed slowly but steadily for Hermione coming up to the Saturday when she was due to go and meet Victor at the airport. She would found out that she could use the Floo Network to get to Terminal 1(Heathrow's terminal for all European flights) arrivals area. That meant she could wake up later then usual around 9, which had risen to prominence had a shower and then changed into a dark blue blouse with light grey trousers to match and trainers and went downstairs to read the newspapers both muggle and magical. First up on the magical side was _The Phoenix_ a new independent newspaper, established during the Trio's sixth year at Hogwarts and had come to prominence rivalling the conservative former Death Eater owned Daily Prophet after the downfall of Voldemort. It was effectively born out of tolerance as it had a joint giant and wizard as co-editor and a majority of its correspondents were an eclectic group of werewolves, elves and goblins who now had their rights restored under the new ministerial control. It had nothing really of note in the world to report that day apart in the sports section which came with a glossy Seven Nations pull out, previewing the league which Bulgaria were the favourites to win with Ireland coming second to them. This was because although the Bulgarians had not made any changes to their line up since their world cup defeat, Ireland had lost two of their chasers Moran and Troy both due to them retiring and Lynch reported to be off form. Krum was also looking strong. Another thing in the sports section was that Ginny had managed to get on pole position at Boar Hill Raceway for the Scottish Round of the International Racing Brooms Falcon League (the wizarding world's cross between International Formula 3000 and the NASCAR Busch series). Hermione made a mental note to check up on the results, as this was her friend's debut and to congratulate her. She would have many supporters there too as Boar Hill was only about four miles (just over six kilometres) away from Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.

Second, most information for the muggle world would normally be absorbed from the Independent but "Sorry Mione the newspaper boy didn't come round today with the paper"

Hermione then decided to go into the living room, have a look at the television, and see what was on. One of the thing's she rather missed while at Hogwarts was television Eurosport and, Discovery and the History channel, a common thing amongst students with muggle parents especially ones who had digital TV. Many things had been good substitutes for that including Qudditch matches but it was nice to get some time to put your feet back and watch. However, Hermione was going for the news channels especially BBC News 24. This was normally a wise thing to do, but the first report that came off the male newsreaders lips that day would be the last one she would watch for that day. __

"A Russian Tupolev 154 has exploded in southern Bulgaria killing all 180 passengers and crew on board. The flight, Flight BAL95 bound for London lost contact with Sofia air traffic control at 11.15pm local Locals reported finding debris scattered along a five-mile area about an hour later. On the ground our correspondent in Bulgaria has the details" Hermione shuddered at first _BAL 95 that was the flight that Vicki was on… _The report rolled on but Hermione was not exactly listening to the words. Her eyes were glued on the pictures the shock of seeing people combing through debris amongst which could be pieces of her friend slamming through every nerve, every cell of her brain. It may have been a summer day but she was feeling extremely cold and numb with the cruel lethal hand that fate had dealt one of her closest friends.

Tears welled up in her eyes but no sound, no grief came out and then her moment of privacy was broken albeit mercifully firstly Crookshanks padded into the room climbing up on to the sofa and sitting down next legs folded between him. Herms reached out a hand to comfort him and stroked his fur and that was when the second interruption came in with her mobile phone.

"Hello Hermione" Ron voice came warmly across the line.

"Ron, Have you been watching the…"

"Yeah and so did the boss. He is calling all agents in for the Europe section but we have to use muggle forms of transportation to get to HQ to avoid suspicion. I will come and pick you up in 10 minutes. Are you going to be alright until then?" There was clear concern in Ron's voice coming through the line and something else… although she couldn't figure out what it was at the time, Later she would find out.

"Yeah, I think so…" Tears were running down her face now. Ron must have noticed this through some unknown way as his voice came through with a sense of urgency.

"Ok... I'll be there in five" _Even if I have to speed and risk being fined or worse to get there! _Ron thought as he walked out of The Burrow towards the Weasley's car. He didn't need to but at all time he was driving he was fighting the urge to stamp down on the accelerator or use the flying to_ hell with not acting suspiciously_ _this is a fucking emergency! _The frustration of that thought made him visibly clench the steering wheel in disgust. Three minutes later he was out of the light blue Ford Anglia with the engine idling and walking up towards the door of the house. Hermione or Crookshanks must have heard him as the door opened and she stood ready waiting for him.

For a moment of silence both stood looking at each other. Ron staring at the grief stricken but determined woman who was standing in front of him, Hermione looking back through her tears and then the air and tension broke and she collapsed almost in to his arms tears running down her face, which buried, into his shoulder with the brown hair draped behind her. Ron just held her tight running his hands through his best friend's wild brown hair. For a few minutes, they just stood there united in grief and sympathy no one watching them and then them both gently withdrew from each other and Hermione walked slowly along to the car.

For the first half an hour the ride was uneventful. Ron turned the in car radio on to WWN checking for news updates and drove quietly. Hermione kept silent and at one point tried to go to sleep but found that she could not so she just sat there trying to recuperate and focus her mind on the events.

"Ron?" She asked quietly

"Yes" Ron replied eyes not deviating from the windscreen.

"Were there any other famous casualties… wizarding or normal human?"

"Well with the wizarding community apart from Krum, Levski and Dimitri were also on the plane when it hit. However, the muggles are also interested because apparently a four star Russian General: Gennady Stefanovich Golivar was on. King told me that he was close to the current president too so there's a lot of eyes on in this not only because of the death toll." Ron then glanced at the Ford Anglia's fuel gauge, which was now on its reserve stage "SHIT! Looks like Ginny's been out racing and hasn't refuelled the car _again_." He snarled frustrated at his younger sister's actions.

Hermione began to focus and then she saw the blue and white petrol icon marked on a metal sign. "There's a service station two miles ahead." At that Ron visibly relaxed and switched lanes to the outside one "Oh yeah I know that station. We should have enough fuel to reach it especially if those _wingtips_ Ginny made actually worked." Five minutes later, they arrived at the green roofed BP fuel Ron lined up the modified Anglia next to the unleaded pump and opened the door. Stepping out he noticed that there were not a lot of cars stopped at the service station. In fact, it was completely empty _"That's odd; normally it's pretty full at this time of day," _he observed as he opened the fuel cap and started the process of fuelling up the Anglia's tank. When suddenly he noticed another car approaching the green pumps from the motor way. It was a four-wheel drive car, a silver Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII and it rumbled in slowly and steadily. The windows and windscreen were tinted but he could make out that there were two occupants in the car one being the driver and one being the passenger. Then the first occupant got out. He was wearing a grey NATO sweater over a light blue shirt with added epaulettes. The Epaulettes had on them five dark blue bars on a pale sky-blue background, which identified him as a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, the equivalent of a colonel in the army. However, there was also another symbol on both epaulettes, a purple diagonal stripe that identified him as someone who worked with the magical community or was him/herself part of it. NCOs, enlisted personnel, or rates had a similar symbol but it was a purple circle, which would be on the sleeve of their fatigues or uniform.

_Coincidence?_ Ron's thoughts rhetorically asked. Both He and Hermione had Occulmency training as part of becoming Aurors and could now read thoughts and send them out as they were in a conversation with each other almost reaching telepath status.

_I don't think so…_Hermione's mind _hold on I think I know him! No, it can't be…. _Ron did not have time to ask who it was as the man strode briskly up to him. He was tall but well built and had short brown hair. In fact, he looked somewhat similar to Hermione with the shape of the eyes and face. However, the face was more weathered and defined. It showed pain but also a sense of calm intelligence.

"Evening Magus Are you Ronald Weasley?" he asked with an accent similar to Hermione's but lower. The voice didn't contain strictness but a sort of curiosity combined with firmness and a degree of calmness. The kind of voice that showed a genuine interest in a person "Yes sir. I am." Ronald replied fishing out his ID pass. He wasn't required to salute him but he did have to show respect and nod in acknowledgement. This man was top brass after all even Aurors had to respect senior officers, no matter what force they came from. 

"Good. I've got something to give you but I need you to sign this, after you've filled your car up of course." Ron was still filling the Prefect up. Just then, he heard the loud audible three clicks that signalled that the fuel tank was full. Fortunately, the tank was also self-service so Ron could also use his credit card. _Thankfully, I get my salary paid in sterling/ euros as_ _well as sickles and galleons. Just as well, even though it's diesel_ he thought glancing up at the display. He then took out a pen and signed the white form marked OHMS. The group captain looked at it and nodded "Both items check out. What I am about to give you is something most boy racers would love to get their hands on but aren't allowed to. Oh, by the way those tires look a little… flat. Your partner may want to get out and re-inflate them." _Maybe_ Ginny_ hadn't just been racing_ Ron thought and chuckled at that as he opened the passenger's door. Hermione was extremely unimpressed by the title she got.

_"_Partner_? _Come on _petit merde_, you already know who Ron is and you definitely know who I am! _" _Hermione's thoughts slipped out loud unintentionally as she got out of the car and was refilling the tires using an air spell to allow a jet of air to flow from the wand.

"Sorry Hermie but even these walls do have ears you know. I'll see you both later. "Came the quiet reply from the captain as he clipped the blue flashing lights positive and negative connectors to the Anglia's battery's terminals and as Ron shut the bonnet and got back in side. Hermione was silent as Ron started the engine but there was a clear sense of recognition in her eyes.

"_Hermie,_ was that person familiar to you?" Ron asked as he accelerated hard up to around 85mph and got back on to the motorway

"Don't you dare even think of calling me that again Ronald Weasley! Unless you really want me to stop the car and really floor you" Hermione's angry outburst caught Ron by surprise and he visibly slumped in his seat shocked and cowed. Hermione saw that he hadn't meant to be mean and she softened. "Sorry Ron I really hate being called that. Malcolm who you met back there used to really chide me with it whenever I messed up as a kid."

"Kid, you mean he's related?"

"Hermione nodded and said simply "Ron, He's my brother"

"WHAT? You never told Harry or me you had a brother, especially one who was in the Royal Air Force. " It was Ron's turn to be genuinely angry now at the apparent lack of trust shown by his best and closest friend who ,added to that was also now his colleague.

"I couldn't tell _almost_ _anyone _about him other wise my parents could have found out and caused a huge amount of trouble for me and anyone else. He used to go to Hogwarts but then joined up as a part muggle. They haven't really spoken to each other for the past 7 years." Hermione's voice was silent containing regret almost. Her expression was sort of pained, guilty.

"Care to tell me anything about him though?" Ron's question was still hot but less angry as he seemed to be accepting the shock of this announcement.

"He's eleven years older then both of us for a start. He used to be in Hogwarts but then joined the RAF as a fighter pilot flying Harriers. He served in Iraq and Kosovo (two muggle conflicts) but then about four years ago there was a classified incident that brought him back in to the wizarding community. He has never really talked about it that much over the past years but apparently, he was leading a flight of four jets in which almost half were destroyed because of some type of magic super-weapon. There was an official enquiry and he was cleared of all charges. After that he's been doing jobs jointly for the ministry and the muggle armed forces as a senior liaison officer."

Ron checked the magical rear view mirror "Yeah. Well I guess he's also working today." He observed as he saw the Lancer about four cars behind them. It was cruising at a steady rate though not closing up but neither holding back much and it continued to follow them throughout the route.

He also remembered something else from the petrol station "There was someone else in that car with him. I couldn't see who it was but there was definitely another person with him."

"They could be heading for the MOD head offices at Petty France. That's about ten minutes from The Ministry's visitor entrance." Hermione interjected remembering the lesson she had learnt about Muggle Liaison areas.

"He also said, "I'll see you both later." Besides judging from my first impressions he doesn't seem to like being around in one place for too long." Ron remembered as they came towards the centre of London. Five minutes later the Lancer did indeed break away from following and headed for the MOD offices and five minutes after that Ron and Hermione turned into Auricium Street where Ron parked the Anglia in front of, and walked towards a small modern office building but large enough to have a turnstile.

It also had a grey box, which was an electric swipe card system; however, there was something that anybody (most muggles to be precise) who didn't have the right type of card to activate it would have even thought possible. There was a small light on the bottom right hand corner box, which normally changed from red to green upon a successful identification.

However, for Ron and Hermione's passes the red light initially changed to green but which then turned to a strong gold hue. Both knew it was safe to go in and walked in unison at the same time. Pushing forward on the door, they did not stop turning until they heard the click and saw the London ground coming up and over the turnstile. Ron smiled wryly as he just saw the ground closing up around the prefect as well. He would avoid a blasted muggle parking ticket or clamp too. Then his mind turned, as had Hermione's long before him to trying to piece together the death of her friend.

**_NEXT CHAPTER: It may have been confirmed as an attack but could Krum and his teammates have just been caught in another person's line of fire? There are many suspects around. Both usual and unusual…_**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, spells or the one mentioned from a certain film or places. Any characters idea or locations that I have created such as Malcolm Granger are ones that may not be used with out my personal permission.

Information on the Royal Air Force can be found at www.raf.mod.uk. I also used a lot of content as well as information from Potter Storm. But unfortunatley I have not been able to post the link to this however ) This is a really great site for content and helped me a lot, as of course did the books.


	2. The Unusual Suspects

_CHAPTER TWO: THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS_

-Authors notes

The muggle work entrance was a new addition to the Ministry's entrance hall but it was not the only thing that had been added, or replaced. In the place of the destroyed fountain of "The Supremacy of Wizardry" was now a large fountain called "The Five Equals" which now took pride of place. It was in the shape of a pentagon and placed on a pentagon shaped pedestal in its centre, it had an elf, a witch and a wizard (on the same side both with raised wands), a goblin, a giant and a centaur both. This was one of the first acts passed by the liberated house elves after getting advice for from their Scandinavian cousins, that, they had finally met, in Hermione and Ron's seventh year. After all, if you want to start change peoples thoughts, where better to change it in the institution where that culture is regulated? It was a symbolic gesture but an important one nonetheless.

For Ron who was walking with her and Neville, who was waiting at the entrance for the pair of them the fountain, had become an _extremely _accurate indicator of Hermione's mood. If she were in a very happy or excited mood, she'd go up, drop a Knut or maybe a Sickle in, sit, and watch the fountain. If she were in an ok mood, she would look at it and if she were in a bad mood, she would just walk right past it. So therefore it was unsurprising to Ron that Hermione walked directly passed the fountain to the security desk. Ron walked slightly ahead of her just enough for her to notice, "It's ok Ron I can handle this." A trace of firmness was back in her voice and Ron slowed down back beside her. Both handed their ID passes to the security guard Eric Munch (who was retiring shortly) for inspection. "Good Afternoon, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger. I didn't expect to see you both in until Monday"

"Yeah well duty calls" Ron replied casually "Especially with times like this."

"Well As you can see Mr Longbottom has been out waiting for you and your father said he'd be home early at around seven. I also need to weigh your wands. It'll make getting in much easier in future." Ron and Hermione both handed in their wands to the security wizard who placed them on the scale. "Fourteen inches, willow, Unicorn hair core. Been in use about six years 6 months?"

"Yeah that's right" _That wand has been a faithful mate since my first one broke,_ _it better not let me down now!_ Ron thought as he handed it over

Hermione also gave her wand in "13 and a half Inches, Ebony, Unicorn hair core. Been in use 8 and half years?" _Now that's my little black number_ Hermione thought a small smile trying to tug at the edges of her mouth as she heard and verified it.

As he had first done with Harry about four years back, he kept the slips and handed the pair back their wands but instead of impaling it on a brass spike as he had done all these years for visitors he put the slips into a silver drawer marked Ministry Employees and the slips almost auto filed them in to respective folders. "Thank you. You can now go" and then went back to reading his magazine.

"Corporate perks" Ron nudged Hermione, whose smile began to increase just as Neville walked up to them.

"Hey Neville how was your week?" Ron asked. Unlike Hermione and Ron, Neville only had three days to recuperate before being called in for his first stint as an Auror; he was effectively an acting desk sergeant. This was because he was doing specialist training to become a combat healer, which took 6 months more time then the standard training. The good thing about it was that he was working under the tuition of his mother who was a marked contrast to him although personality changes were slowly shifting through him making him more friendly more open and more engaging. He had moved away although not under bad circumstances from his grandmother and was now dating Luna Lovegood although he was pretty guarded on the state of his relationship.

"Pretty quiet but interesting" Neville replied, "Kingsley told me to come and fill you in on what's been going on down here" he motioned to a totally empty one of the silver lifts. All of them filed in and Neville closed the grating. Once the grate was, closed Neville pointed at the wand's grating and mumbled two incantations "Nil disturbarium this made the bars that made up the iron grating covering the lift's entrance quickly expand and merge together into a semi transparent screen. The second incantation _espressono_

"So what's been going on?" Hermione asked the smile fully retracted and the urgency and returned sadness in her voice clear to everyone in the lift. Neville was expecting this though and his voice although it was quiet it contained a lot of sympathy.

"We've had a fair bit of action here but only a few things solid Herms. Half an hour after the crash the Bulgarians called Kingsley to ask for our assistance in this case and things got very busy here. Apparently, they would have been in our hands in anyway once they'd flown to Heathrow and the British have always been extremely close to the Bulgarians wizarding-side if not on the muggle side. However, there have been no confirmed sightings of former death eaters in that area in the past month although there has been a lot of activity by the Roma or Gypsies who have been persecuted a lot or it could even be giants some of whom also are pretty annoyed at the Bulgarians. The Truth is we have no idea. In fact until the official cause of the crash is confirmed there are a huge amount of suspect's, especially unusual ones"

"Unusual Ones ... you mean muggles?" Ron asked. Unusual Suspects was an Auror term for muggle involvement. A term that was becoming increasingly outdated but still existed

"Yeah in fact we just got a memo from the Ministry of Defence's Magical Liaison Bureau. One of their senior officers, a Group Captain Menzies is coming over in a quarter of an hour to brief us on the likely suspect's muggle wise and the possibility of this being a mechanical failure"

"_Possibility?_ You mean in two hours we've been able to get absolutely _nothing_?" Hermione interjected, Irritation and disappointment at the lack of facts, now beginning to seep in to her voice.

"Like I said Herms until we at least have a rough idea _of_ the cause of the crash we won't be able to do _anything about_ the cause of the crash. Currently the on site air crash investigators are looking for the aircrafts black box recorder- A muggle invention, which records different types of data in an aircraft up to a crash. "Neville explained this for Ron's benefit "Once they've found that or something else that can give us a lead that we can work from that but apart from that we're looking at every different angle we can , see if there is anyone we know and seeing what we can to do to get into the area. However the MOD said that from first at glances satellite photos it doesn't seem to be a mechanical failure or pilot error as well as the fact that this Russian General was the plane " The lift slowed down stopped at the 9th floor. The iron screen reverted to the grate, which moved out almost automatically just as three purple memos landed in their hands and unfurled themselves. Imprinted on all of them in gold lettering were the terse sentences:

ALL MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN SI SECTION:

Unfortunately, Bulgarians CONFIRM PREVIOUS REPORT OF THERE BEING NO SURVIVORS. THEY ALSO report THREE more deaths on ground IN CRASH SITE AREA. Assemble in operations room in five minutes as Senior Liaison officer is coming in.-King

The trio increased their pace towards the Auror Headquarters and passed the enchanted windows, which (although it was sunny outside) the ministry were in the midst of a downpour. _Either Magical Maintenance are angling for a pay rise again or they have a Leligimens in their midst because that downpour seems to match Hermione's mood to a T_ Ron thought. In addition, Neville wasn't going to help her, in fact he was going to add more fuel to the flames of her emotions as he added his final bit of news as they entered the European Sections cubicles.

"Oh and Hermione. Kingsley knows about you and Krum. He's been reading the Daily Prophet." Hermione almost came to a complete and total stop at Neville's remark and grabbed Ron's hand and squeezing it tightly making him wince in sympathy and pain in the same time. During her time in Hogwarts, the Daily Prophet had caused more trouble for her then it was worth. First in her fourth year thanks to Rita Skeeter and then in her sixth year making false allegations about lewd sex scenes with Krum (with the odd doctored picture to match) causing a lot of embarrassment and humiliation for her especially from the Slytherins with Malfoy and Parkinson being the offenders in chief. They were later proven to be false but Hermione had never forgiven the Prophet.

Hermione did not know what to say as she was caught with a brief surge shock and anger. She stood for a minute there in mute rage letting the anger run through her with Ron watching in silent sympathy and decided to let it pass , put on a game face and walked down the hallway into the operations room .

This had been constructed two years earlier due to increased pressure and increased intake of responsibilities for the Aurors. "To be an Auror was to be an elite agent and elite agents/officers needed to be armed with the best of resources"-One of the conclusions from an enquiry conducted shortly after Voldemort's downfall. There were other measures too such as the more noticeable system of ranks but those were already in the process of being implemented. However, the rank system did show at the table as each person had a seat assigned to them. _  
_

There was a loud crack and Malcolm walked calmly in the operations room with the words "Good Afternoon everyone" there were murmurs of acknowledgement with the senior officers. He was carrying a case in his right hand, which seemed to be carrying documents of some sort. Tucked under his left arm was a circular cardboard tube, which had plastic lids, so what ever was in did not fall out. He proceeded to take the lids out and remove the thin sheet of what seemed to be film from the tube and placed it on the board. Then he tapped the roll with his wand, uttering the word _Attiro _and the roll flattened into a square. Ron looked closer catching the attention of Malcolm who explained for him.

"This is a Satellite Photo of the area where the plane crashed Ron. I'll let you all look at it once I've given my briefing. Nice to meet you earlier by the way despite the circumstances, Hermione's told me a lot about you." His voice was much friendlier and his stance was slightly more relaxed then when they had last met. Ron was about to reply when Kingsley called the Aurors seated around the table to order.

"OK everyone listen up. For those of you who don't know him, Group Captain Menzies here is the senior liaison officer at the Joint SIS-MOD's Magical Liaison Bureau. I asked them to look at two things for us. The first one was how likely this to be just a plain mechanical failure? Secondly if the crash does turn out to be a terrorist incident who would be the prime muggle suspects and why." He nodded to Malcolm who began talking

"Always happy to help out. Well the short answer to the first question: it is a possibility but highly unlikely. The owner of the plane: Bulgarian National Airlines was a new start-up formed about 4 years ago using relatively old aircraft such as Tupolev 154's but unusually for carriers in the area it had won an international award last year for its aircrafts reliability and distance covered.

"What is the Tupolev 154's safety record like?" Tonks asked.

"Despite its NATO codename: Careless it's pretty good for the conditions it operates in which are very tough. Out of 923 that were built, only 28 have been destroyed in accidents. However, the main cause of those crashes has been freak accidents like coming under fire from enemy fire in civil wars like Afghanistan and Georgia. The important thing is that only three aircraft have been involved in accidents due to mechanical failure. The last real air disaster _before this one_ involving this type was on July the 1st 2002."

"What happened and what was found to be the fault?"

"I'd thought you'd ask that. This one was a mid air collision" There was a nod amongst the wizards , all of them knew what that meant " involving a chartered 154 belonging to Bashirkiran Airlines of Russia and a Boeing 757 which was a freighter for DHL, an express delivery service. It was not at all pretty. All 71 lives on both planes were lost, most of them were 54 school kids who missed their first flight to Barcelona for a festival held by UNESCO. An investigation found that the accident was due to a lot of mistakes by Air Traffic Control, nothing related to the plane itself although the pilot did make errors due to pressure from an investigating officer and a Swiss air traffic controller was indicted."

"So what you're saying is there is a low chance of this crash being caused by something to do with the plane or airline?" Kingsley asked

"Yes and this moves me into the second thing you asked the bureau to research King: If this was a terrorist incident what threats does Bulgaria face that would use this sort of method?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Ron saw Hermione's hands visibly clench at Malcolm's use of the last word. Her face was neutral, unemotional but you could see the indignation rippling through her at the word "method."

"Well the biggest threat at the moment from a terrorist group internationally is Al Qaeda or one of its cells. This is because of Bulgaria's decision to send troops to Iraq in around April 2003 and the president was a staunch supporter of the US military action there. In Iraq, Arab insurgents executed a Bulgarian truck driver and his colleague in July 2004. Bulgaria would also be relatively a soft target to for them to hit with a suicide bomber. However while we think this is possible and they are the most likely suspects it would be low on its list of countries with the UK and US at the top of the list. Besides, with the US elections out of the picture the UK and the international community including the US has managed to turn the tide in Afghanistan at least denying them the opportunity to set up camps. _Not so much in Iraq_ he did not add

Hard-line Eco terrorists could also want to take a shot at Bulgaria: as it just happens to have built a large reactor at Belene on its Northern Border with Romania" The map developed a red circle with the name of the location to show the location of the town. "This has annoyed environmentalists for two reasons. One it draws in water from the Danube for cooling and secondly most of the orthodox environmentalists are against nuclear power for obvious reasons although there has been a slow shift in the environmental lobby. As it stands, Bulgaria is one of the leading energy producers and thanks to that reactor; it has managed to maintain its grip on that market. If it were they, then it would be a significant and worrying shift in their tactics heralding a new intensity of international eco-terrorism, which is exactly why we _don't_ think it's them. It would also look extremely bad for moderate groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of The Earth as they would more likely than not be tarred with the same brush especially when things are now moving their way politically and publicly. For them Nuclear power may be an aggravation but it's not a thing to detonate bombs over. " He didn't have to say... _for most of them_.

"The Roma and Gypsy problem you already know about on this one and on _this issue _the bureau's extremely unsure. While there may have been a lot, of wizarding activity on this over the last decade, there has been _no reported activity_ of muggle terrorist groups over this issue and we don't think they've got the resources or backing to do something muggle related. All of the other groups that I have mentioned _do. _Added to that, the persecution of the Roma has been flickering on the radar for a long time. This has led the European Union to put pressure on countries that are planning to join the EU, Bulgaria being one of them to get their act together on this issue before they join."

"That covers threats to the country as things stand. Now we were going to leave it at that, until we heard about General Golivar's name being on the list of people who were on that plane."

"...and you got extremely interested in him for reasons which you said you couldn't tell me or everybody else over the phone ,even though it's encrypted." Kingsley's low voice rumbled in showing the interest

"Firstly because Golivar was one of the people tipped to be the new Marshal of The Russian Federation, Secondly because he was Commander of Russian forces in the Northern Caucasus Military District. That covers the disputed areas of Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya, which has become increasingly radicalised by Muslim Fundamentalists and a long guerrilla war for independence. The war came before the radicalisation.

Finally because his eldest Son, who he's survived by is married to the presidents daughter" It was Hermione's turn to notice the wave of increased alertness from _all _of the Aurors including Ron, at the names of Chechnya and Ingushetia. _Why would the wizarding community take a special interest in what is going on with Russia or the surrounding area muggle-wise?_

Malcolm put out Golivar's file with a photo of him "Golivar was born in Leningrad 1956 and from when he was 18 rose through the ranks of the Soviet Army. Twice decorated with the Hero of the Soviet Union, He rose through the ranks as a member of Russians Paratrooper divisions to become executive officer of a paratrooper division in East Germany, the 31st Spetsnaz Brigade that was pulled back when Germany reunified at the End of the Cold War in 1990. After that, the Brigade was transferred to the Northern Caucasus region where it stayed and was reduced in size but Golivar moved into Moscow as executive officer for the Central Moscow Military District and worked with agencies like the FSB. Most people viewed him as a highly efficient and respected commander ... "He paused

"Until what?" Ron asked

"Until about two weeks ago when allegations of ties to the head of an unknown Russian Organised Crime mobster going by the name of Yevgeni Konavitch surfaced. They were amongst allegations made by a relatively junior military prosecutor Captain Vladimir Ranichenko who is incidentally wizarding related. Added to that a muggle organisation Amnesty International made allegations of human rights abuses of suspected terrorists in his area. This was a general allegation though and not directed at him per se. However it's not known whether the general had any knowledge of these and if he did then whether he was supporting or trying to curb them".

"How likely is the Russian Mafia to be a suspect?" Hermione ventured the question

"I had one of my men phone a Russian expert. Short story: The Organised Crime groups do not go in for taking out large civilian jetliners. They do go in for assassination but not one that would take out that many civilians. It would be too damaging for them. On the other hand, Chechen Rebels are more likely to be responsible as firstly they are the biggest active group in Russia now and have intensified their attacks despite Russia tightening its own presence in the area and. Added to that most of them have become extremely radicalised into Wahabbi Islam so suicide bombings wouldn't be much of a problem for the most fanatical and dedicated followers. "

"Any further questions

There was silence around the room. No one had any questions to ask

"Fair enough then that covers the bureau's investigation. I have the current reports and files that we got from our research into this matter. Any files and more detailed Intel that you need will be transferred over to you as soon as possible. We're also prepared to see what we can do with getting people in on the Russian side by flagging through a request through the joint NATO/Russia council"

Kingsley considered this "I've already read through his file and this Golivar character sounds interesting. This is why about two hours ago I put an urgent request through to my opposite number in the Russian Security services. So far, there has been no response but we have one as you already know from the Bulgarians asking for our full assistance in this matter. They have also agreed to have a group of Aurors based near the crash site with full access to witnesses and any evidence. If we get the green light from Moscow, I want to cover both leads and send two people up there."

"Neville how do you feel about going off Desk duty. You up for it?"

"Neville nodded "I believe so sir"

"Good because as of Monday you're going with Ron as part of the initial team to the crash site and start enquiries from there. Hermione once we get clearance you're covering the lead on Moscow with Tonks. We will get all three of you accredited today and then this'll give you time to prepare for your first mission. "Kingsley was looking especially at Hermione when he said those words.

_Been Reading the Daily Prophet have you Mr Shacklebolt? Well Guess what? The Daily Prophet doesn't have a fucking clue about my private life!_ Hermione's face was burning .Her normally soft brown eyes blazed with a fury that would have set any wood in the room alight. Unfortunately, for her Shacklebolt was watching her and her mind.

"Those four that haven't been mentioned, dismissed. Malcolm could you stay a moment?" Malcolm nodded _Huh what is this, a double backstabbing _Ron was first to notice as the others filed out 

"Yes I do read the Daily Prophet Ms Granger. I happen to read quite a few newspapers as it comes with the job. By the way, with the Daily Prophet, my reading is between the lines with it. I don't believe all the stuff about lurid sex scenes but I do think you've had a serious enough relationship for going to the crash scene to have a profound enough effect on you that could compromise your judgement!."

"With all due respect sir Viktor and I had a purely platonic relationship and _nothing more_!"

"I don't doubt that but a platonic relationship can have just as much value as an intimate one. Added to that this isn't a revenge mission this is your first assignment as a professional Auror and not one to test your ability to separate your personal and professional life Hermione despite _the personal trials_ you may have been through at Hogwarts. I thought about this and this came up as the best thing to do. Be thankful that I didn't completely take you off the case" Kingsley's low voice was not angry but it was extremely firm and in control. However, there was a trace of sarcasm at first, which had resolved itself. Hermione bristled at the sarcasm but knew Kingsley had a point.

"That resolved?" He looked into her eyes with a penetrating glance.

She nodded resignedly and was about to leave when Malcolm actually chose to made his voice heard in a cold icy and uncompromising tone "If you're going to Russia Hermione you might want to remember a quote made by one of its former leaders : One death is a tragedy , millions are just numbers "

Ron did not catch the unconscious meaning but knew it was nothing good. For Hermione it was the equivalent of squirting water at a cat, capping off neglecting to feed it _and _give it water. However she was in between a emotional rock and a hard place i.e. she couldn't rip the guy's face or otherwise she'd put her butt straight on the firing line, however this was one jibe she couldn't ignore not after all she'd been through. So turned on her heel, and arched back to face her brother, the group captain, with an expression of pure unadulterated outrage. "_Sir I'll bear that in mind_" then she turned a right angle with a mock salute and marched out of the room hissing just out of earshot "_BATARDE_!"

**_NEXT CHAPTER:_** Hermione may be angry about her rough treatment at her hands of Shacklebolt and Menzies. However,will she pursue her own personal vendetta against Krum's killers?

NB. Batarde French for Bastard. SIS Secret Intelligence Service

Information on the factual events and details came from Global security's website and BBC news online service

This is something I should have said before the first chapter was posted on but I'll say it now.

As you may have noticed during the first few chapters just as BuckNC did: This story is different from the usual Harry Potter fanfics you may have read. A lot of the main characters are changed from what they were because of events in the sixth and seventh year's and I would say this is effectively a spin-off on the HP series.

I'll explain how and why changes have happened in future chapters but as for the absence of the main character, well you'll have to see. This is more of a spin-off than anything focusing on the supporting characters, which were to be fair in the shadows of Harry and I wanted to experiment with Harry playing a minor role after he defeated Lord Voldemort. Would he really have more energy ready to fight the dark powers on the wider scale without taking a step back or would he want to fade away into a sort of obscurity?

Secondly I was tempted to launch this after the US presidential elections (Which in hindsight would have been a better thing to do as I could have edited it depending on who wins.) and in future I'll keep on a objective non biased when mentioning current affairs but I will mention them.

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